Driving mechanism.



No. 856.943. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. M. B. CHURCH & K. KNUDSEIL,

DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION IILED FEB.23, 1904. RENEWED 001:. a, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Ill/1,

Ill/ W:

'N-O. 85 6, 943; PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

' M. B. CHURCH & K. KNUDSEN.-

DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB.23, 1904. RENEWED 00w. 3

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

mol

in Driving Mechanisms of which the follow' UNITED sm'rns PATENT OFFICE.

MELVIN CHURCH, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN AND KARSTEN KNUD SEN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO THE HOLSON MOTOR PAT- ENTS COMPANY, LTD, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A PARTNERSHIP OF MICHIGAN.

DFHVING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed February 23,1904. Renewed October 3, 1906. Serial No. 337,273.

' county of Cook and-State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements ing is a specification.

:Il'ns mv'en'tlon'relates to lmprovements 1n dnvm mecham'sms, and refers more; specifical y'to an improved mechanism whereby two shaft members are yieldably connected wlth each other and driven in such manner as to impartthe driving power to other elements operatively connected with the respective shaft sections, the arrangement being such that inequalities of driving engagement are compensated for or equalized.

' The salient object of the invention is to provide a'mechanism of the character referred to, in which power derived from a single source will be transmitted to two differwhich the two pinions are enabled to acc'u rately and fully engage the respective gears regardless of whether the driven gears are arranged with their teeth in exact meshing register with the res ective pinions, or, in other words, -to avoi the inequality of engagement which would ensue if both gears were driven from a single shaft provided with .two fixed pinions; to provide 111 a construction of this character a simple, compact and durable arrangement of the parts, and one particularl adapted for use with a mechanism in whic 1 the driving power is transmitted to the intermediate portion of the drive shaft; to provide a construction which may be readily assembled and taken apart,-

for the purposes of inspection of repair; and, in general, to provide a simple and improved mechanism of the character referred to.

To the above ends, the invention consists in the matters hereinbefore described, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure '1 is a view of the driving shaft and parts mounted thereon, one half of the mechanism being shown in axial sectional view and the other half in side elevation; Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the equalizing connections, whereb the interrupted shaft sections are oonnecte the view being taken in the same plane as that shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown 1n Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1; Fi 5 is a sectional view of a vehicle wheel an shaft equipped with one embodl- 'ment of my invention, the wheel proper being shown in axial section and the principal parts of the mechanism therein 1n side elevation, with parts broken away; Fig 6 1s a fra mentary vlewof thewheel rim, wlth the 51 e or face plates removed; Figs. 7 and 8 arcinside face views of the two side'plates of the I wheel.

In the a plication of our invention herein shown an described, the drive shaft forms part of an electric motor mechanism which is arranged within the hub of a vehicle wheel; but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this lparticular application, although it is of pecu 1ar importance in this connection.

Describin first the general arran ement of parts, and referring to Fig. 5, l designates the end portion of a vehicle axle, and 2 designates as a whole, a wheel journaled thereon. Said wheel com rises a hub portion 3 fittin upon the journa of the axle, a rim 4 provide with a suitable tire 5, two internally-concave and outwardly-convex side-plates 6 and 7-, and a motor mechanism arran ed within the hollow wheel thus formed, an designated as a whole 8. The motor mechanism 1s fixedlly supported 11 on theend of the-wheel axle the two fiel members 9 and 10, respectively together constit ting a hollow rigid shell motor is transmitted to the cross pin throu h within which is journaled the armature or rotating meinherof the motor. The specific construction and arran ement of the field members of the motor torm no art of the present invention, and need not t erefore be specifically descriloed; but it may be remarked that the general construction and arrangementlcorrespond to that described in patent to A. E. Holson, No. 701,341, dated June 3, 1902, to which atent reference is made for a more specific escri tion.

Describing now more particu arly the resent invention, 11 designates, as a who ,e, a drive shaft constitutin the armature shaft of the motor, and provi ed at each end with a driving pinion, as 2, l3, res ectively. the inner faces of the sidep ates 6 and 7 of the wheel, concentrically with the axis of the latter and in opposite relation to each other, are mounted two annular racks Hand 15, with which the pini'ons l2 and t3 respectively engage.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the drive shaftl-l consists of two sections 16 and 17 arranged iii alinement with each other, and the proximate ends of which are connected by means of an equalizing'or evener mechanism, which permits a movement of one shaft section relatively to the other. To this end, eachshaft section is rovided with a collar'18 pinned or otherwise rigidly secured thereto; each 001 lar bein provided in its periphery, at diametrical y opposite points, with sockets or bearing recesses 19 (see Fig. 3). The recesses 19 of the respective collars face each other and are adapted to receive the ends of a pair of eveners 20, 21, the engaging ends 22 of which are curved to mesh, gear-tooth fashion, with the recesses 19. The two eveners, 20, 21, are mounted upon a cross pin 23, which extends through the centers of the eveners and between the proximate ends of the main shaft in alinement with the axis of the latter. The cross pin 23 constitutes the connection by means of which'the torque of the armature is transmitted to the eveners, and from the latter to the two shaft sections. In the present instance, the torque of the the medium of a sleeve 2e surrounding t e entire evener mechanism, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, andconnected at its inner end rigidly with the armature of the motor, designated as a whole25 the ends of the cross pin being extended through and beyond the exterior of the sleeve 24 and secured therein by through pms 26.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that one shaft section may rotate relatively to the other a limited distance,

such rotation being permitted by the rocking of the eveners on the cross pin 23. Accord ingly the pi'nions 12 and 13 may be placed in mesh with their respective racks regardless of the angulanrelatwn of the rack-teeth of Upon,

as indicated at 28.

entirely through the armature and is one rack relatively to thosepf the other; and it will be further obvious that if the teeth of the rack are inaccurately formed or spaced apart, the necessary movement of one shaft section relatively to the other may occur without varying the driving force imparted to the respective racks through the evener mechanism and shaft sections, lin other words, the shaft sections will oscillate back and forth relatively to each other to compensate for inequalities in the gear construction, but the inions will nevertheless at all times impart t e full driving torque of the armatur to the ear racks.

in t e present construction, a bearing sleeve 27 is mounted upon that end of the armature shaft having the sleeve 24, and has screw-threaded engagement with the latter, The sleeve 27 carries a roller-bearing mechanism designated as a whole 29, and through the medium of which the armature structure is supported within the field, members.

The shaft section 17 eaten (ls loosely through the armature, as indicated in 'l ig; 1. 30 designates a second sleeve, which extends rovided atits outer end with a second ro lerbearing mechanism 31, and between said roller-bearing mechanism and the armature with a commutator mechanism designated as a whole 82. The armature is keyed to the sleeve 30, as indicated at 30. The outer bearing rings of the roller-bearing mechanisms-29 and 31 are clamped immovably between the opposite halves of the shell constituting the field of the motor and hereinbefore referred to, as clearly shownin Fig. 5.

4 i The 0 eration of the mechanism has been fully in icated in connection with the description of the construction, and need not therefore be repeated. it will be obvious that the construction can be modified without departim from the invention; and we do not therefore limit ourselves to the details of construction shown herein, except-to the extent that such details are-made the subject of specific claims.

Besides relieving thrust on the main bearing, another advantage of my invention is that the intermeshing teeth are relieved from friction and wear.

As is well known when a force acts against other forces Work is always done against the force which offers the least resistance. in the present case this principle finds an important application asa result of the arrangement of the racks, pinions and evener and 'thus offer the least resistance in their intermeshing action, that is, between those teeth Whose oint of.contact is at or nearest undue wear on the teeth, this effect being loss.

dueto the balancing action of the evener. In this way although the forces acting on the two driving pinions are always maintained'e'q'ual, the greater part of the energy is transmitted, firstfbyone pinion and then by .the other, according as each is in position to do the work with the minimum friction It is to be understood however that what we have indicated above as an alternating action in the transmission of energy does not effect or modify the results flowingfrom the couple action of the pinions and the relieving of the thrust on the main bearing for whether the one or the other pinion is effectively transmitting. the energy, both pinions maintain their connection with theogposite sides offthe driven member and t eir control thereof to relieve the main bearing of side thrust;

,Another result ofthe use of/the arrange ments above described is that the side thrust on the pinion shaftbearings is relieved. Ordinaril geared members have a tendency to wor away from each other owing to the sliding action of theintermeshing teeth in transmittingthe power, but as in the present case theflforce is transmitted in great degree only through the teeth which are on the-center line of the ear members, and consequently, have no radia thrusting action, the thrust on the bearings will be relieved, and not only this, but in the form of this invention herein described in which each rack is engaged by a pinion at one side thereof, there will be practically no twisting strain or pressure on the rack tending to give a .twisting thrust longitudinally of the main bearing of the .driyen' member because the pinion has no tendencv to thrust the rack away from it.-

Voe claim as our invention: v

' 1. In combination, a pair of compensatin gears, an equalizer connecting them, a thir gear member meshing with both compensating gears, and driving means', substantially as described.

2.. I nc ombi'nation, a pair of compensating gears, an equalizer connecting them and a third gear meshing with both compensatin gears,- said equalizer acting as a power trans mission element and means for drivin the pair of gears substantially as describe 3. In combination, a plurality of compen' sating gears, e ualizer mechamsm. comiecting said gears 'or'compensating movement, and. another gear element cooperating- 1n common with said compensating gears at separated points, the portions 0 said gear cooperating with the compensating gears be- .ing ri id with each other.

'4. n combination, a pair of compensating gears, an equahzer connecting them and a third gear meshing with both compensating. gears, and means for drivin the pair of gears through said equalizer, su stantially as described.

5. A driving mechanism comprising a driving member, an encircling member to be driven, connections between the driving memher and substantially opposite points of the encirclingmemb'er to drive the same and equalizer means to control the transmission from the driving member to the encircling member at said opposite points whereby a perfect couple action in continuous rotary mo.- tion is effected, substantially as described.

6. A driving mechanism comprising adrivin memberf'an encircling member to be driven, shaft sections and gearing connecting the drivin' member to substantially opposite sides ofthe encircling member and equalizing means to control the transmission between each shaft section and the encircling member, substantially as described.

7. .A driving mechanism-comprising a driving member, an encircling member to be driven, a pair of annular racks carried thereby, gearing interrnediate'theracks and the driving member to transmit the power to the encirchngmember at substantially opposite points thereof and equalizing means to control the transmission at each of said opposite .points, substantially as described.

8. In combination, a pair of ears and a gear meshing'therewith, means w erebysaid pair of gears have a com .ensating action in respect to each other, an means for driving thepair of gears, substantially as described.

9. In combination, a pairof gears, a third geared member meshing therewith, and equalizing means for the pair of gears, each gear of the pair alternatin with its compan- IQII gear in transmitting t e power with the greater efficiency according as the teeth of said gears respectively assume the more efficient power transmitting en agement with the teeth of the third. geare mer'nber, substantially asdescribed.

10. In combination, apair of rotary ower transmitting members, a third me'm er'in ower transmitting engagement therewith,

rivin means and equalizing means for the pair 0 power transmitting members, substantially as described.

11. A drive shaft mechanism comprising a which the respective pinions are en aged,

forming ayielding connection between the racks with sea shaft, a driving pinion on each end thereof, two rigidly united parallel gear racks with which the respective pinions are engaged, and means intermediate the ends of said shaft affordinga yielding connection between said pinions, for the purpose described.

12. A drive shaft mechanism comprising a shaft, a driving pinion on each end thereof, two rigidly united parallel gear racks with and means intermediatethe ends of sai shaft affording a yielding connection between said pinions, comprising a pivot support carried by the shaft, an evener carried by said pivot support, and operative connections betweenthe respective pinions and the opposite ends of said evener.

13. A drive shaft mechanism comprising two alined shaft sections, a pinion havingrigidconnection with each of said sections, two parallel rigidly united gear racks between which said shaft extends diagonally and with which the respective pinions are engaged, and means operatively connecting said shaft sections comprising a pivot support carried by the shaft, an oscillatory member mounted upon said pivot support, and interr'neshing connections between the oscillatory member and respective shaft sections.

"14. A drive shaft mechanism comprising two al-ined shaft sections, a ri id driving pinion for each, two rigidly uni ted parallel annular racks between which said shaft is arranged to extend diagonally and diametrically and with whichthe respective pinions areengaged, and means for yieldably connecting and driving said. shaft sections comprising a pivot support carried thereby and having its axis radial to the shaft axis, an oscillatory member mounted upon said pivot support, interm shing connections between said oscillatory member and the respective shaft sections, and means for applying driving power to said. oscillatory member at a. point between the shaft sections.

15.. In a power transmittin mechanism, a driven member, a pair of para el coaxial connected racks carried thereby, adrivin shaft extending diametrically and: diagona ly between said racks, pinions on' the ends-of said shaft enga ing', one with one rack and one with the ot er rack, and an equalizing device driving and the driven. members.

16. A drive-shaft mechanism comprising two alined shaft sections each. provided with a rigid drivin pinion, two rigidly united gear iich the respective pinion's are engaged, a pair of diametrically opposite evener bearings. upon the meeting end of each shaft section, a pair of eveners one at each side of theshaft axis, having their ends engaged: with said. evener bearings, a crosssupport extending through the intermediate portions of the two eveners, and adriving member operatively connected with said cross-support radially outside of the eveners.

17. In combination, a pair of rotary power transmitting members, a third member in power transmitting engagement therewith and equalizing means for the pair of power transmitting members, said equalizing means having movement relative to said pair of power transmitting means, substantially as described.

18. In combination in power transmission vmeans, an encircling member, an inner member encircled thereby, connections between said inner member and substantially opposite points of the encircling member,drivingmeans and equalizing means to secure a substantially uniform transmission of power at said opposite points, substantially as described.

' 1 9. In combination in power transmission means, an annular member, members at substantially opposite points in respect to the axial center of said annular member having power transmitting engagement therewith, connecting means between the opposite members, driving means and means whereby a compensating effect is secured at said opposite points,'substantially as described.

20. In combination, annular power transmission members, a pair of members, one of which is in engagement with one annular member and the other member of the pair engaging the other annular member, the engagin' points being substantially on opposite si es of the center of rotation of the annular members, connecting means between the members of the pair, and equalizing means, substantially as described.

21. In combination, annular power trans mission members, a pair of members, one of which is in engagement with one annular member and the other member of the pair engaging the other annular member, the engaging points being-substantially on opposite sides of the center ofrotationof the annular members, connecting" means between the members of the pair, inclined in relation to the axis of rotation, andequaliaing means, substantially as described,

22. In combination, an annular geared member and a pair of gears meshing therewith at substantially opposite points, said gears having'a compensating action inv relation to the annular geared member, each gear of the pair alternatin with its companion gear in transmitting t ie power with the greater efliciency according as the teeth of said gears respectively assume the more efficient power transmitting engagement with the teeth of the annular geared member, substantially as described.

MELVIN B. (.HURCH. KARSTEN KNUDSEN. Witnesses:

ALBERT H. Gnavns, Louis T. ll lA.NI T. 

